KABUL (SW): ISIS’s appeared in Achin district of Nangarhar in Afghanistan during the first year of the National Unity government. In its first move, Daesh (ISIS) killed a group of Taliban with a bomb explosion. This group surpassed the Taliban in showing violence, provoked the suicide attacks on Shiite mosques in the country, and vowed to continue the patch of Iraqi and Syrian Daesh group in Afghanistan.
Although the governments put the fight against Daesh on its priority agenda, and the US forces also dropped an 11-pounds bomb “the mother of all bombs” on the ISIS group in Achin district, however, ISIS has expanded its territory in Afghanistan constantly.
The current report has been prepared based on people and security forces sources on the areas under the control of the ISIS or Daesh in Afghanistan.
Nangarhar:
Nangarhar province has borders with Pakistan in the east of Afghanistan, and Daesh originally emerged from Achim district of this province. In the operation launched by the government against the group, a number of commanders and militants of this group were killed and wounded.
At present, the number of ISIS soldiers in Nangarhar is estimated to be around 1000 men based in Achin, Khogyani, Pechragam, and Haska Mina districts.
Saeed Bajawori is considered to be the commander of ISIS in Nangarhar and other notable members of this group in Nangarhar are Dr. Saba Gul, Mawlawi Mohammad Amin, Mawlawi Rabbani, and Umar kowi.
The local authorities in Nangarhar said there are Urukzai Pashtons from Pakistani, Punjabis and Uzbeks from Uzbekistan among the members of ISIS in Nangarhar, but most of the members are from Nangarhar.
ISIS’s financial resources in Nangarhar are said to be provided through Zakat taxes and smuggling of forestry, mines and some foreign financial support.
The commute route for this group is said to be Hindu Kush Mountain and White Mountain. The weapons this group has in possession are Pieka (machine gun), Kalashnikov (Russain AK-47), rockets (RPG) and 82 cannons.
Kunar:
In Kunar province, 78 ISIS groups are active and members of all of these groups are estimated to be around 747 people. They have a presence in the Nerang, Norgol, Suki, Shigal, Wata Pour, Chapa Dara, and Manogi districts and the famous commanders of this group are Mawlawi Abdul Rahim, Qari Saeed, and Sheikh Najm-uddin.
The ISIS has a recruitment center in Kunar province as well. The members trained in this center will be sent to other parts of the country. The presence of foreign fighters, in particular, Pakistani and Uzbek fighters has also been confirmed in this province.
ISIS funds its operation in Kunar through smuggling of forestry, mines, Zakat and Usher taxes, and external financial support.
Due to its proximity to Pakistan, the members of this group have been frequently been travelling between Pakistan and Kunar. They also use weapons such as Peika (machine gun), Rockets (RPG), Cannon, and Kalashnikovs.
Jawzjan:
In the northern provinces of Afghanistan, Jawzjan borders with Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and is one of the biggest ISIS bases in northern Afghanistan. The members are based in Qosh Tapa and Darzab districts.
Residents of Jawzjan said that with the exception of Darzab, ISIS controls all the other areas of the district. The members of this group are said to be around 600 people in Jawzjan including 150 foreign fighters from Iraq, Syria, Algeria, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Chechnya and Tajikistan.
Sebghatullah, Shujauddin, Karim Aka, Juma Aka, and Salman Aka are among the commanders of this group in Jawzjan. Previously, the chief commander of this group was Hekmatullah Ghayor who was killed by the security forces a month ago.
The financial sources of this group in Jawzjan include the collection of Zakat and Usher taxes, smuggling of mines, abduction of people for ransom and foreign support. The group has killed many people in this province so far.
There are about 500 ISIS fighters in Qosh Tapa district in Jawzjan including 125 foreign fighters from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan, Kurds and France.
They are equipped with weapons such as Darazno, Kalashnikovs, Peika (machine gun), and rockets (RPG).
According to reports, Hussain Qahraman, son of Tahir Poldash, the founder of the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan known as Jundullah is also among the foreign fighters in Jawzjan.
ISIS controls about 90 villages all together in Jawzjan. According to the official sources, members of ISIS are more than 400 fighters in Jawzjan.
According to these sources, the number of foreign fighters in Jawzjan is about 40 people including two French families, two Arab families, a Tajikistan citizen, and 37 Uzbekistan and Chechnya citizens.
ISIS has trained 120 children in the Mogul village of Darzab district to carry out suicide attacks.
Sare-e Pul:
The members of ISIS are active in Kohistanat and Sayyad districts of Sar-e Pul and the numbers of ISIS fighters have been estimated to be around 300 people. 25 ISIS members in this province are citizens of Uzbekistan. The group finances its operation through smuggling of mines, Zakat and Usher taxes and receiving foreign support.
Shir Mohammad Ghazanfar is a key ISIS commander in Sar-e Pul province, but according to the sources in national security forces, recently, Shir Mohammad Ghazanfar has sworn allegiance to the Taliban.
The weapons in the possession of this group are Kalashnikovs, Peika (machine gun), rockets (RPGs) and more.
Ghor:
The base of ISIS in Ghor province is in the north of Feroz Koha city, and in the village of Rhasakan in the Alamain region. The commander of ISIS in Ghor is Qari Rahmatullah and he has around 100 fighters under his command. Another commander of this group is Shah Wali according to sources.
ISIS in Ghor province is equipped with light and heavy weapons such as night vision cameras, Peika (machine gun), rockets (RPGs), and Kalashnikovs.
ISIS members have been travelling to Pakistan through the mountainous valleys of the Northern part of the country though Nangarhar province.
ISIS have tortured and killed many people including government employees in Ghor province.
Last year, this group killed 30 residents of Kashi in Feroz Koh city who were all peasants.
With the crackdown on the ISIS in Nangarhar, the group’s activity in Ghor has also declined.
Ghazni:
The ISIS does not have a permanent base in Ghazni province; however, its members have been seen in areas of Gilan, Moqor, Qara Bagh, Giro and Ander districts. The group has been active in Ghazni through the Nawa and Khak Afghan districts of Zabul.
Badakhshan:
Although the ISIS group’s activities in Badakhshan province have not been confirmed, the presence of foreigners who believe in ISIS has raised local government concerns.
The number of foreigners active in Badakhshan is estimated to be 500 people who have presences in the districts of Jaram, Wardoj, Yamgan, and Raghestan.
50 of these people have been actively carrying out terrorist activities along with their families in the Khostak area of Jaram district, and the districts of Wardoj, Yamgan, and Raghestan.
Parwan:
Two groups of ISIS are active in Parwan province according to sources. However, the activities of these groups have been carried out secretly in this province. These two groups have been active in the Saeed Kheil and Bagram districts, however, the secret activities of this group has made it impossible to estimate the members of this group in this province.
According to security sources, ISIS’s activities in Parwan are such that members of the group do not even know each other. According to sources, the members of Hezb-e Tahrir have also joined this group in Parwan.
Other provinces:
ISIS members have also been seen in the Bal Charagh district of Faryab as well but do not have a permanent base in this province. Also according to sources, there are about 100 ISIS members in the Alingar district of Laghman under the command of Mawlawi Feroz, but this group has not carried out any terrorist activity in Laghman yet.
According to security sources, ISIS members have been seen in Musa Qala, Kajaki, and Baghran districts of Helmand province as well, but did not have a significant activity in these areas yet.
The ISIS group is reportedly been present in the Khak-e Afghan district of Zabul province as well, but so far no information has been reported on how the ISIS group have been operating in this district.
ENDS
